Jolyon Palmer Abu Dhabi race 1 report

Jolyon Palmer press release

Briton Jolyon Palmer takes superb maiden GP2 podium in Abu Dhabi
Son of former F1 racer Jonathan secures third at Yas Marina to finish as leading Brit

Jolyon Palmer produced an outstanding drive during today's (Saturday 12 November) GP2 Finals Feature Race at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi to secure his maiden podium on his debut drive for team Addax.

Podium: third place Jolyon Palmer

Photo by: GP2 Media Service

The 20-year-old son of former F1 racer Jonathan, who has enjoyed a string of top 10 finishes this year, got away well off the line from his best ever starting position of P5 and made up two places early on to bring his car home in an impressive third place.

As the lights went out, Palmer showed good pace during the early stages, easily matching the leader's times and briefly leading before pitting mid-way through the 31-lap race.

With fresh Pirelli tyres on he returned to the 5.554km track in P4 but after the pit stop shuffle the Brit was once again in third.

Palmer continued to put in quick and consistent lap times around the Abu Dhabi circuit, venue for this weekend’s Formula One Grand Prix, as he chased down second place man Luiz Razia in the AirAsia car.

In the closing stages, iSport's Marcus Ericsson was beginning to catch but the Addax driver never really looked fazed as he crossed the line as the leading Brit and his best finish to date in the F1 feeder-series. His team-mate Jake Rosenzweig, meanwhile, failed to finish.

Speaking after the race Palmer said: "I had a good start and took advantage of a collision at the first corner to run P3 for the first stint. I was starting to catch Razia for second when he pitted. I pitted two laps later and lost time whilst he was on newer rubber. After the stop I had big problems with front flat spots and degradation as we only changed rears in the stop so I didn't have the pace to challenge the top two anymore, but I was able to do enough to hold off Ericsson and take my first podium. I am extremely happy and want to say thanks to Addax for giving me a great opportunity here."

Racing Engineering's Fabio Leimer claimed the race victory just ahead of Razia with Palmer third meaning he'll start from the third row (P6) for tomorrow’s race after applying the series’ reverse grid rule.

Tomorrow’s final GP2 race of the year begins at 13:30 local time (09:30 GMT).